DNA
by StakeTheHeart
Summary: The world is at an end. Humans are rare and live in colonies, their only line of defense against the lurking predators. The stalemate will only last so long. Two sides of the same coin band together to make a difference. Their goal; to find the legendary Dome which is said to house the answer they seek, the answer that will cleanse the world of the virus that has consumed it.
1. Vamps, Wolves, & Humans

**Request from ROLF-Wolf-Of-Thunder. I'm loving the idea and working hard to make sure it comes out right. This will be a multichapter. Exactly how long it will go, I have no clue. I'm excited to get started so here's the first chapter. Enjoy!**

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><p><em>2004<em>

The lab was always chilly at this time of day but the young scientist kept working. Others were busy, bustling around him. He had just been hired on the new project spearheaded by the US government. War was upon them and they wanted the upper hand. After all the guns and bombs they wanted to surprise attack their enemies, infect them with a virus that would kill them off. Then a counter virus would be released so that it didn't spread. No more than that was explained to the lower level scientists such as himself. Only the higher ups knew what the virus did. It was all hush, hush; especially since it was still a prototype. Even family members weren't allowed to know. He sighed and turned away from the metal table of his work station just in time to hear someone swear loudly to his right. A tinkle of glass followed, and then chaos.

"Dammit! We have a contamination breach!" the scientist next to him screamed. He stumbled back to lean on the table while others ran around in the process of protocol should this happen, but his eyes were stuck on the scientist whose fault it was. He was clutching his hand where blood spilled from his palm to join the blue liquid on the floor. The broken glass must have cut him. He was breathing heavily and slowly crumpling to the floor. The young scientist glanced around to see most of his peers were already evacuated. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving the man behind, so he knelt next to him with a rag to staunch the blood.

"Can you get up?" he asked the older scientist. Silence was the only reply. He tried to lift the man but he was dead weight. Instead, he dropped him back on the floor. He fell forward to lie there silently, unmoving.

"Um, Sir?" the young scientist called to him. A guttural noise met his ears this time. A chill ran down his spine when the man sat up, ghostly eyes on him. He now had a pale complexion, pointed ears, sharp nails, and black eyes with white irises. The man hissed and bared sharp teeth. Two pointed fangs on each side of the top row of teeth. It was enough to send the young scientist scurrying back. The thing, no longer a man, was quick to catch him by the leg and drag him back. Those teeth aimed right for his neck and tore. He tried to fight back but it was too strong. He could feel his blood spread, hot and thick, all over them. In no time his vision dimmed and he blacked out, body drained. The creature roared in triumph and then darted from the room in search of more prey. In the next hour, the lab would be a scene of massacre and only a third of the survivors would get out to warn others of the outbreak.

,~,~,~,~

_Breaking News_

_Mass hysteria is sweeping the nation. Warnings of a virus spreading through the US has people fleeing their homes. Sightings of the creatures created by this virus have been described as pale with sharp teeth and eyes that are black with white irises. Authorities urge civilians to be ready for evacuation and meet at the city limits. Actions have been taken to try and quell the threat for now including extermination and multiple tests. If all else fails, extreme measures will be taken._

_,~,~,~,~_

_2008_

The head scientist to the creation of the counter virus strode into the lab, warmth permeating the room. They had captured a few infected and studied it from all angles until they understood its workings. It would provide the answer to stopping it, hopefully, for good. Months have slipped by them with countless test subjects dying. They just weren't compatible with the injections. It wouldn't stabilize. But he wouldn't give up. He walked over to the two test tube tanks lined up at the back. Each was hooked up to wires and tubes, a breathing mask on the subjects' faces. Another had been taken apart and lied dead on a metal table. It had been a failure. He examined the corpse and then turned to the two scientists stationed there. They were busy trading causes of possible death when he interrupted them.

"How is it coming along?" the head scientist inquired.

"After we took into account that animals take longer to become infected we decided to work with various species in order to turn it into a cure. So far only mammals have worked the best but none as well as the canine species which shows complete immunity. We've tried them all and came out most successful with wolves. We just need a little more time to perfect it. You see, there are side effects-" the questioned scientist began to explain.

"You still haven't perfected it? Are you aware of the fight we're losing to this virus? We have already bombed the city it started in. The evacuated people barely have homes. Not to mention that word is going around that some infected have survived and it's starting all over again! We have no time for absolute perfection," the head scientist stated impatiently.

"But Sir-" the other scientist tried to say.

"What we have now, does it render the test subject immune?" he demanded.

"Y-yes, but it needs-" the poor scientist tried once more only to be ignored.

"It needs to be administered immediately. Find me more subjects, preferably at a younger age than what we've already worked with. We need them malleable in our hands," the head scientist commanded.

"And if we can't get any more volunteers?" the other scientist spoke up.

"Then we find someone, no matter the method. We must make sure this works. If it does, we can begin the counter attack. Report to me when the scouts are sent out," the head scientist continued.

"Yes Sir," both of the scientists replied with a nod and a grim expression. He nodded to them and then walked away. The sacrifices are for the good of the population as a whole. At least, he kept telling himself that. He may have been at the top in this facility but he was not the head of the whole project. He differed to a stronger power. He had no say in the matter. He made plans to return to his office and await the report. That was all he could do at the moment.

,~,~,~,~

_2010_

Darkness cleared and sound returned. She was having a hard time focusing her vision but soon that was returned to her too when she opened her eyes. Everything was tinted green and wavered her vision so she closed them again. She tried to think back to the last thing she remembered clearly. She was taking a jog around the block. She had gone around three times when she got a call to come home. She had just put away her phone when…that's it. It was a blank from there to waking up now. Granted, there were a few flashes of something hanging at the edge of her awareness but she couldn't grasp it. It was like holes in her memory. She had no clue where she was now. The echo of a slam and then multiple footsteps reached her ears through the test tube. Muffled voices soon followed.

"This one survived testing?" a deep voice questioned.

"Yes," an answer was given in a lighter tone.

"Even the more…harsher tests? The months of constant injections to temper the body and the resulting effects?" the deep voice interrogated.

"Yes. She's shown a remarkable compatibility with the Serum. At first she began to react harshly to the introduction and we almost lost her a few times, but now she's perfectly fine," the other lighter voice replied.

"I want to see her for myself, run a few tests of my own," the deeper voice demanded. There was a hesitant pause before a reply was given.

"But I was told…of course. Excuse me while I begin the extraction process," the lighter voice stated. She felt herself in motion now. She was moving so that she was lying on her back. The liquid around her began to drain. As soon as air hit her face she gasped and coughed on the excess oxygen still filtering into her lungs from the mask. It was removed by gentle hands that then held her steady so that she wouldn't move.

"Careful, you'll tear these right out of you," the light voice, now clear, warned her. The bright light kept her from opening her eyes but her sense of smell began gathering information to make up for it. There was a pinching sensation at her arm and she flinched. She automatically pulled away and gasped when another pinch of her arm followed.

"I'll hold her steady. Get the rest of the needles out," the deep voice spoke up. Rough hands held her while more pinching along her arms and legs followed. She was then lifted so that they could reach the ones along her spine. Those hurt and she cringed in pain when they were removed. A whine left her lips but she was momentarily too weak to fight back.

"Help me move her to the table. We can get blood samples for now until she's a little more awake for the other tests," the light voice remarked. She felt herself get carried until her back met a cold surface. A shudder rippled through her body at the contact. Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, but clearing. Hands held her arms and a new needle pierced her skin, drawing from her instead of injecting her.

"You should be honored. You'll be the carrier for the counter virus. If it succeeds then we can begin to vaccinate survivors," the deep voice told her. The comment confused her. It belonged to a tall man in a lab coat. A smaller man in a similar lab coat took the vial of blood he was handed and took it to the counter where he could run the necessary tests.

"Well?" the tall man pressed. The smaller man shook his head and returned to his side.

"It doesn't seem stable," he observed.

"What? But it hasn't killed her," the taller man replied.

"The other one, the male, he turned out the same way," the smaller man responded.

"Dammit. We've tested it time and time again. What did we do wrong? Why won't it come out perfect?" the taller man griped.

"We might as well move on to the physical tests again now that she's more lucid. We can at least see what we couldn't with the male as he's still going through another round of injections," the smaller man suggested. It was then when she found her voice.

"No, please," she pleaded to them in a quiet whisper. They both looked down at her before forcing her to sit. Her muscles protested slightly and she groaned. It felt like fire flowed in her veins.

"W-what happened to me?" she spoke again but they ignored her. The memory of feeling like she was being slowly torn apart surfaced and she closed her eyes against it.

"Nothing you should concern yourself with. Just listen to me and try to stand," the taller man instructed. The smell of chemicals burned her nose, and when she opened her eyes, her sharp vision locked on the taller of the two. She just growled low and glared at him. He sighed and then pulled her from the table. She stumbled but her strong legs quickly adjusted.

"Ok then, let's see what we've got here," the taller man stated, examining her. The smaller man stood back, his brows creased.

"Stop," she warned the taller man prodding at her to start walking, a strange feeling growing within her. It was powerful and scary. She didn't want it to take over but his incessant poking and prodding and pushing was becoming too much. He forced her past the table and she stumbled again but stayed standing. Her mind felt like too many thoughts were crowding it at once. She needed time to herself. She wanted to be left alone. But he kept pushing her until that unknown force burst from her like an uncontrollable beast.

"I said, stop!" she roared in anger and spun on him. The taller man was thrown back with a swipe of her hand, thick nails gashing across his chest. He fell over and she glare down at him, her eyes then turning to herself. She was dressed in nothing but a skin tight material that covered her bottom and top. The minimal amount of cloth bared her tan skin. She froze when she noticed the toned form of her body. She had some muscle before but not like this. They were firm and she actually had abs. It was like she was a professional kick boxer all her life or something along those lines. She took in the black nails tipping her fingers, blood dripping from one hand. Her tongue brushed long thick teeth where her canines should be with matching ones on her bottom row of teeth. Panic set in and she rushed to find a reflective surface. She found a shiny metal tray, dumped the supplies off it, and held it up. Her defined face looked normal at first but when she opened her mouth she saw the sharp teeth. Her irises glowed a golden yellow.

"Where am I? How long have I been here? What did you **do** to me?" she whispered, frantic. She tossed the tray aside and grabbed the taller man by the front of his coat to effortlessly haul him up. She held him slightly suspended off the ground without even knowing it.

"Y-you are immune to the virus. You are our ticket to success," he grunted out. She wrinkled her nose at the strong scent of fresh blood that clung to him. It was then she realized she had attacked him. She dropped him and backed away, the strange new features disappearing with her uncertainty.

"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…" she gasped out. It was then when the smaller man returned to his senses. He had been taken by surprise but now he had clarity. He hit the call button at his belt. In a matter of seconds the sound of footsteps outside the door made her spin around to face the newcomers. Soon she was surrounded and tranquilized multiple times until she was subdued. As she fell into a deep sleep she hoped this was all a crazy dream and she would wake up passed out on the couch in her living room.

,~,~,~,~

_Report: _

_Subjects already infected could not be cured when injected with the Canine Serum. Subjects who have not been infected and are fully compatible with the Serum retain immunity. Others did not take well to it. Side effects are still present. More tests were given to understand side effects. Subjects showed that they had better eyesight, keener hearing, an enhanced sense of smell, and when angered grow sharp teeth and nails like that of a canine. The Serum itself causes memory loss. To what degree it is not known. In conclusion, the effects aren't a threat to health but do change human behavior to a more base instinct._

_Reply:_

_The decision to cryofreeze the 30 subjects that survived testing has been made. Keep them for future reference and start new based off the old Serum. Find a way to reach the same conclusion without mutation to the subject. Awaiting news of perfected cure._

_,~,~,~,~_

_2018_

The vibrating alarm woke her up at an ungodly hour. She groaned and fumbled for her phone to shut it off. She was used to the vibration after many years of hiding out. Too much sound drew those things' attention. Although her phone lost service years ago she still kept it as an alarm but mostly for sentimental reasons. As far as she knew, this damn plague started when she was really little. It wasn't big until a while later. It became a problem when it was all the news talked about. Her parents herded her and her brother from city to city, state to state, trying to outrun the virus that turned people into cannibalistic monsters. She was raised in this crumbling civilization all her life. Her parents were survivalists and taught her their ways.

She caught on fast, but when she was seventeen they were ambushed. Her parents were killed but she escaped with her brother. Now, three years later, she was twenty and her brother the same age she had been when they died. She was very protective of him and did everything she could to keep him safe. Currently they were hiding out in an old rundown motel. Slowly, everywhere they went, cities fell under contamination. It hit hard and scattered the remaining survivors. She and her bother came from New Jersey and had worked their way toward New York where they hoped to catch the ship that was said to pick up survivors. That was her goal, to get her brother there, alive, no matter the cost.

"Jade?" a sleepy voice said in the dark. Speaking of which, here he was now. She turned over to face her brother even though she couldn't see him.

"Yeah Alex?" she replied, just as tired. She hadn't gotten much sleep as she was mostly the one to keep watch. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, she was just too overprotective to leave him alone. She was always asleep right next to him, so he wasn't really alone, but that didn't matter. To her he was alone.

"Are we almost there?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," she answered. He yawned and then cleared his throat.

"Good. I miss people," he mentioned. Jade laughed at his claim and smacked his shoulder lightly.

"I'm a person. You have me. Isn't that enough?" she demanded, somewhat playfully.

"You know what I mean. I've always been the more social one," he pointed out. She nodded even though he couldn't see. Where she was content to be alone or just talk to one person, he liked a whole group of people. When there wasn't someone he knew he made friends. In contrast, she tended to find a corner to sit in and kept to herself. People pissed her off and 'normal' people scared her. It was ok because she scared them with her love of scissors, horror, and fashion style. She was considered Goth but she never saw it that way. She just wore what she liked and that was all.

"Besides, I heard that they have, like, actual food on that ship," he continued. She smiled at that.

"And we don't have actual food?" she questioned.

"Ugh, you know what I mean Jade. Don't be difficult, it's too early for that," he complained.

"Yeah, well, the more sunlight hours we have the better. It may not grant us complete protection but most of them don't like it enough that we're safer than traveling at night," she replied pointedly.

"I know, I know," he groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position. I followed him off the bed and moved to open the blinds. We both flinched and whined when then bright light came into the room.

"Might as well be those things," Jade grumbled under her breath.

"You mean vampires?" Alex corrected. She could hear him getting dressed behind her so she stayed staring out the window. He always made a fit if she saw him anywhere close to naked, even though she saw him naked many times when they were growing up.

"They aren't vampires," she snapped.

"They are too. They're violent, drink blood, have super senses, pale skin, fangs, they prefer the night, and are blinded by sunlight. If that's not a vampire I don't know what is," he argued.

"Sounds like humans with rabies to me," Jade commented.

"You just like to disagree," he said, giving up. She turned around to see that Alex was dressed now. She crouched by her backpack and began digging out some clothes. Once she had them she began to get dressed whether he saw or not. With a sound of disgust, her brother hastily turned around, just as she knew he would. He had a weird thing against being naked for some reason.

"Ok, I'm dressed," Jade announced. He peeked with a single eye first before turning all the way around with his eyes open. Jade just rolled her own matching blue-green eyes. They looked almost the same except Alex had their mother's blond hair.

"Ok then. Let's split soup and then get the heck out of here," he proposed. Jade nodded and moved back to her bag to grab a can of soup. She took it to the kitchen where she checked to see if there was water. Turning the tap gave nothing. She sighed and hoped the gas line still worked. It did, so she quickly opened the soup by the handy pull tab and set it on the stove. Alex came out a moment later and stopped to look at her.

"Yeah, yeah, it's bad for your health, blah, blah, could be dangerous, I don't care. Look, we need to eat. I don't trust finding dishes to use when we don't have water, so this is how it's gotta be, ok?" Jade stated. He raised a brow and crossed his arms in a look he perfected from watching her.

"Hey, that's **my** unamused stance," she complained teasingly with her hands on her hips. He rolled his eyes now and made his way into the kitchen.

"You're burning the soup," he pointed out. Jade glared at him and then jumped to attention, shutting off the stove. They let it cool before splitting it, packing up, and then headed out. They had a long way to go still and there was no time to lose.


	2. Monster or Protector

Both West siblings had their respective weapons always at hand. Jade had a sharpened pair of stainless steel scissors and Alex had a switchblade their father had carried everywhere. When they traveled they usually kept quiet, rarely talking unless they needed to. People roamed the streets as well as a few vampires still human enough to cover up with clothes and wear sunglasses to avoid direct sunlight from damaging their sensitive eyes, but those were few and far between. Jade pulled out the weathered map and led the way. By the time night fell they were a town's distance away from their destination. They found another motel, which was still running as a sort of shelter/camp, and locked themselves in a room.

"Why don't we just kick it with people here?" Alex asked after they were all settled and sharing the last of a box of crackers.

"Because it's only temporary. This isn't a way to live, hiding until they catch up with us. We need to join the biggest group of survivors out there. It'll be safer than being on our own," she answered calmly. He sighed and fell back on the bed. She could tell he was just tired of running. But if they wanted to stop running they needed a safe location. Jade stood and fell into bed next to him.

"Let's just relax and get some sleep. I'll take first watch," he insisted. She knew he wouldn't take no for an answer this time so she curled up on her side and prepared to sleep. Alex woke her up right on time, which surprised her. He always tried to get more out of his guard duty but this time he must have been too tired. She stretched out and then stood to pace while he fell asleep. She stopped at one point to look back at him. He looked so innocent and vulnerable, his fair features lit up by the light of the moon. She stared at him, trying to imprint his young face in her mind's eye. He was all she had left. A crash next door alerted her back to reality. She crept to the door and prepared to look out the peep hole but no one was there. Her hammering heart slowed a little. She turned away to head back to the bed when the door burst open, the lock forced from the wall. She cringed and covered her head as wood flew past her.

"Shit!" she screamed, pushing herself forward to get to her brother, but steel hands snagged her before she could move. She was thrown back into the wall and a fist struck her face and then slammed into her stomach. The strength was tempered to cause pain and dizziness but she knew it could easily kill her should the strike be any stronger than it had been. She almost slid to the floor and was forced back to her feet.

"Get up," a gruff voice demanded. It was cold and made her shiver.

"Jade? Jade!" Alex cried, forced up on his feet by another. They dragged them out through the halls and then outside where they were thrown to the ground in the abandoned parking lot. Jade pulled her scissors from her boot and plunged them into the nearest attacker. He screamed and she shoved him away to get to Alex who she blocked from a kick to his head which was now directed at her knee. It crippled her enough that she fell to the ground.

"Alex, run," she panted.

"I'm not leaving you," he denied with a shake of his head. She looked at him to see he had a bloody nose. They hit him! Her anger boiled and she swung wildly at the figures approaching them. They snickered at her and then swiftly parted the siblings once more. Jade fought and struggled, her scissors finding flesh every so often, until her attacker grew impatient and struck her again.

"Stop fighting or I'll rip your throat out," he snarled. It was then Jade knew what she was dealing with. Her blood froze in her veins and she looked up over her shoulder into the cruel black and white eyes of a vampire. He bared his fangs and snarled down at her. She glared back at him and then yanked free to stab him in the chest. He roared angrily but she was free. She darted over to Alex where a second vampire was taunting him. He acted more animalistic than the one that was holding her hostage.

"Get away from him, you bastard!" she screamed, kicking him in the head. He growled in pain while she pulled her brother to his feet. They began to run but Jade's captor was back on his feet, weapon yanked from his flesh. His sharp nails tore deeply into her back to curve around to her side. The pain lanced through her and she faltered. Alex caught her from falling but he was torn from her. She heard him calling for her but she couldn't even talk. A hand gripped at her chin to force her head up and the other tore at her shoulder. Teeth sliced into her throat, clamped on, and tore. She screamed until the blood made her gag, then she was released to fall on the ground choking on it. On her hands and knees, she watched Alex flinch away from the salivating vampire stalking him. When it got too close he swiped with the knife. The creature cackled and dodged the attack then grabbed him by the wrist. A snap followed and he cried out. The vampire then forced his arm behind him at an angle that made him scream in pain.

"S-stop…stop it!" Jade shouted desperately, but it came out raspy with blood dripping from her lips. Her mouth was immediately flooded with more blood, drowning her words. Her hand came up to cover the wound but it was no use. She was growing weaker by the second. The vampire lunged at Alex and tore into his neck, but unlike her attacker, he didn't stop there. Alex screamed and tried to fight but his struggle ended quickly. The spilled blood drew others who gathered to fight over the rest. Jade was glad tears now blurred her vision because she didn't want to see anymore. She hung her head and her body gave out. She had nothing else to live for. The vampire who stood over her kept others off her with occasional snarls then crouched down.

"He went quickly enough," he stated, gripping her by the hair to yank her head back. He leaned in to lick at the bite wound and then prepared to finish her off when he froze. He glanced over his shoulder and then growled.

"Shit, can't even enjoy my prey peacefully," he grumbled. He reached for something on the ground and then lifted it into the silver moonlight.

"I'll just return this to you," he sneered with a wicked smile. He plunged the blade of her glinting and bloodstained scissors into her stomach and then threw her to the ground. The torn flesh of her neck dripped onto the ground under it, covered and out of eyesight. Her shaking hands gripped at the scissors in her stomach, fingers barely managing to curl around them. Footsteps pounded across the ground to stop by her.

"Looks like we were too late. This one's already stabbed too deep," the voice stated to others Jade wasn't aware of. She was barely aware of anything now. Her vision was getting worse.

"Yeah, and the other one is nothin' but a smear on the ground. They must have gotten too excited," another voice came to her, muffled but clear enough. A lone tear fell from her closing eyes. Alex was dead. She failed, but at least she was dead too. Life without Alex was no life at all. At that point she let death have her, giving into the darkness that swallowed her whole.

,~,~,~,~

Jade swam back into consciousness slowly and then all at once, like falling asleep in reverse. She scrambled to her feet, movements light, swift, and precise despite her slight confusion. A quick glance around her surroundings revealed the carnage she had been a part of not too long ago. A glint of metal on the ground drew her eyes to her scissors, covered in blood along the blades. Her hands flew to her stomach where a ragged hole was torn into her dirty shirt but not her flesh. Maybe that didn't really happen? She had to hope. But then where was her brother?

"Alex," she breathed out, suddenly remembering she hadn't been alone. She searched the area but eventually came back outside to the spot several feet away from where she had woken up. His backpack was scavenged and torn open, just as he had been. In fact, he almost looked like his backpack. It was all real then. All that happened. She raised a hand to touch her unmarred throat. It only took one bite. Then that meant…she felt like she was going to be sick. No, she was. She turned away and keeled over to become violently ill. She wasn't sure if it was the sight of her only brother torn to shreds or her body suddenly unhappy with the food she had eaten not long ago because she had already felt mildly ill before finding him in that state. When she was sure everything was expelled, she got to her feet and looked for his knife. She found it still clutched in his detached hand. She pried it loose and then walked over to retrieve her own weapon. She then found her backpack and threw both weapons in before slinging it over her back with the one strap that was still intact.

"I hope you can at least rest in peace brother. I'm sorry I failed you, but I'll get back at them. I'll kill them, for you, even if it means giving into this, this sickness inside of me," she growled, raising her hands to inspect the sharp nails growing into points. She ran her tongue over the newly acquired fangs and then raised her nose to the wind. The smell of her brother's blood still clung to the killers and she was eager to hunt down every last one of them. They would regret that a drop of his blood ever touched their lips. She snarled and let the primal instincts guide her. She moved on swift feet, her pointed ears easily catching the slightest sound. She was aware of the sun rising but ignored it when she finally found the abandoned building the gang of vampires had hidden in.

"An office building. Really?" she commented as she walked up to the front door. She stepped through the broken glass door and followed the trail of dried blood across the marble tile. It led her into a hall where elevators lined the walls. The trail dropped down a no longer running elevator shaft. She glanced down, able to see the bottom through the darkness. A crushed elevator cabin sat at the bottom. She jumped down without a care and caught herself effortlessly below. She shrugged off her backpack and stashed it in the corner before moving forward. She was pretty sure she was in the basement. Or was it considered the mail room? She kicked aside a bucket of mail and continued on. She got halfway through the room when she heard movement.

"Get your ass out here before you piss me off more," she warned. A twitchy vampire shuffled through the mess of papers on all fours. His head tilted left to right, animal tendencies more prominent than human ones. It was the bastard that first harmed Alex. She growled, challenging her opponent. He hissed in return and jumped at her but she dodged the attack. His hands swiped at her but she side stepped each attempt. She waited for an opportunity to strike, secured one of his hands, and then jerked it behind his back to break it at an odd angle in her strong grip. He howled painfully but she quickly pounced on him and without thinking tore out his throat with her bared teeth. She then tore his head clean off.

Dark blood now coated her hands and dripped off her chin. The taste called to her, tempting her into more violence. She listened to it, a slave to the bloodlust. She made her way in deeper to dispatch two more who tried to drop on her from above. She shoved one back, turned to gouge the eyes of the other, switched back to the first to knock him over. While he was done she ripped out a section of his spine and then return to the second to impale him with her hand. Her pointed nails sliced into his heart and then tore it out. The body fell over and she tossed the extracted organ. She moved to continue when her thoughts scattered. She grunted and shook her head but a deep seated thirst took hold of her, blocking out anything else.

"Blood," she whispered reverently. She was already steeped too much in the thrill of the hunt. It was too late to try and ignore the human blood she smelled nearby. It was fresh. She pushed on through the papers and turned a corner into the last room that was illuminated with a flickering bulb swinging from the ceiling. There was the vampire who had bitten her. He had a woman half dead in his arms, gorging from the flow of blood from her torn neck. The light flickered again and he looked up, dropping the woman.

"You survived the virus and now what? You're here for revenge? Try me you worthless bitch. I can guarantee you haven't even eaten since you were turned. I smell no human blood on you," he snarled. Jade only stepped forward, eyes intent, her face showing nothing but anger. The vampire advanced on her, slamming her back into the floor. He roared in her face, blood dripping from his fangs. Jade hissed and shoved him off her, pouncing on him and digging her nails into his chest and stomach. He kicked her off and charged as soon as she was on her feet so that she was thrown against the concrete wall. She hit it hard and stumbled but he shoved her back and gripped her by the neck, hanging from his grip.

"As much as I want this world to burn in hell with every vampire feasting on these pathetic humans I want nothing more than to see you gone," he growled. Jade smirked and spat in his face. He roared and jerked his head away, distracted enough for Jade to break his hold and lunge at his neck. Her nails tore out his throat and her teeth followed to further damage. She tackled him to the ground and proceeded to swallow mouthfuls of his blood. It tasted bland but there was no repercussions. She looked up at the woman to see her wheezing on the last of her air. Jade crawled over to her and quickly snapped her neck. She then finished what the other vampire had started, draining her.

When she was done she licked her lips and automatically sought out more. She wanted it, she needed it. She swiftly backtracked to the elevator shaft, snagged her backpack, and launched herself to the broken hanging cord that used to hold the elevator cabin. She began to climb hand over hand without a problem and came out where she had entered. One glance at the ray of sunlight coming in the building made her hiss and flinch back into the shadows. She took a moment to blink away the blinding spots in her vision, and then dug in her backpack to find her shades. She threw on her hoodie and gloves just in case then shouldered her backpack and pulled up her hood. The sun wasn't going to stop her from getting her fill.

,~,~,~,~

**.. …/.- -. -.- -… - -.. -.-/- ..- -/- …. . .-. .**

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_2025_

Humanity was close to gone. The fight was still going but all Jade could think was that there's either no end in sight or the end of all humans. The longer she wandered the slowly dying earth she'd only ever seen animals scamper by. Way more of them were flourishing than humans now. Though she barely crossed a human's path she crossed many vampires. Her own kind. The thought made her angry. Her temper flared along with the hunger for blood, then the next thing she knew a good many vampires and animals fell at her hands. She would wake up from her red haze of rage to find a path of death trailing behind her. Consuming their blood made her incredibly fatigued and the animals barely helped. It kept her running but she likened it to being a vegetarian. It wasn't cutting it at all and it was slowing her down. The rare times she did run into a human she ended up pushing away her hunger to protect them.

She had to ignore that urge that curled in her gut. She had planned to ask them to donate some blood but they always bailed as soon as they could. She doubted they would have said yes and she might have killed them anyway when control escaped her. It was too risky to attempt. Almost like a full circle her temper would return and then it would start all over again as it always did. She was pissed at her failure, pissed at herself, pissed at what she was, pissed that no one gave a flying fuck that she was trying her hardest to be sincere yet she was shunned. She was mostly pissed at the unfairness of it all. She was the only damn vampire that she knew of who would protect a human from other vampires at the expense of her own need to feed. She wasn't like them. She wasn't like those monsters that savagely took her brother from her. The ache stung at her stomach again and she fell to the ground, clutching her torso in pain.

"Isn't this enough for you?!" she screamed out, her voice echoing across the barren expanse of the car crowded street. She panted a few seconds more then let out a rage filled roar before falling over on her hands.

"Selfish pricks," she grumbled under her breath. She had given into the hunger the first few years she had been this way. She couldn't stop. It was so hard to deny and the taste of fresh human blood was just too addicting to give up. But eventually, she made herself refuse it. At first she would kill and then think of her brother's death until she was punished enough. Then she was stopping herself before she even attacked. After that she only ever hunted down other vampires and even some animals like the scavengers she had seen, refusing to harm another human. If she was lucky she would chase off a vampire and take his kill so that she could rationalize that she wasn't the one to end the human's life so she might as well take advantage.

She was no better than a scrounging lone wolf without a pack, picking off from the packs that were hunting proudly. It was all too easy to break their ranks though. They may travel in packs but Jade came to understand that vampires were the epitome of antisocial. They needed packs to better survive when a human fought back but they constantly fought among each other. It gave Jade a sense of adventure and entertainment to mess with them and split them apart so that she could pit them against each other then pick them off or steal their kills. It was all she had left in the world. She had continued on to New York, but when she got there she just hung around, waiting for something, anything, to happen. She didn't care what, but she was still waiting.

"You don't look so good vamp," a voice suddenly spoke to her right. She hadn't heard him and wondered how out of it she was not to have heard a human stumbling around the rubble and debris. She chuckled and lifted her head to look at him. The lanky young man was leaning against a broken down car not too far from her. He had guts but he wasn't stupid. She saw a firearm at his hip and a sword of some sort strapped on his back. His nimble fingers were tapping a beat against the metal of the car. The hollow sound was one she knew.

"It's hidin' in the dark. Its teeth are razor sharp. There's no escape for me. It wants my soul, it wants my heart. No one can hear me scream. Maybe it's just a dream. Maybe it's inside of me. Stop this monster," Jade recited, her tired voice melancholy yet amused. She really missed music. She couldn't even remember the last time she sung. The human's lips quirked slightly.

"Ah, so I see you do know it," he remarked.

"Nothing like a little test to see if I'm still human enough, huh?" she guessed with a smirk. He looked surprised that she figured him out so fast but then he chuckled.

"I haven't found a vamp like you yet although I had heard there were some. I didn't believe it until one saved me. He was torn to pieces but I got away. Ever since then I've searched for others. You're the first since then," he explained, pushing off the car to advance on her. She tensed and forced herself up to keep space between them.

"Don't come closer. I can't stop myself if…just stay away," she cautioned him. He only studied her a moment before continuing forward. Jade snarled and pressed back against the car at her back. He was standing right in front of her now. His dark brown eyes scanned her before he smiled and dug in his worn leather satchel.

"See, you're fine. I may not have found a civilized vamp since the one who saved me but I have come across a couple smart enough to use this as a false pretense, a trap. They act this way to trick humans into getting closer and then attack. You would have done that already and you haven't so I can trust you," he concluded, finally finding what he was looking for as he babbled. It was a small cup.

"I can't even trust myself. How can you?" Jade questioned him.

"Oh, I'm a good judge of character," he replied with a wink. She sneered and crossed her arms while he set the cup on the hood of the car. He then flicked out a knife and brought it to his arm. Jade sucked in a breath and held it when she realized what he was going to do. She opened her mouth to stop him but it was too late. His blood flowed into the cup and she was mesmerized by it. A low, longing, groan slid from her mouth unintentionally. She took a step towards him and then shook her head to clear the haze. He was bandaging his arm now and then picking up the cup to hand to her.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him, ignoring the peace offering of sorts.

"I need your help. I'm not stupid. This isn't the first time I've seen you. I've been following you the past week to make sure you're what I was looking for. I've come to the conclusion you are. Now drink so you feel better. We've got a long walk back and I need a bodyguard," he began seriously, only to grow playful toward the end. Jade quirked a brow at him then took the cup.

"It's your funeral," she mumbled before gulping down the blood. It hit her tongue and instantly ignited the hunger. She dropped the cup with a gasp and turned away from him. Her nails became points as they dragged over the metal under her hand. She hunched over, trying to fight back to urge to feed.

"You can do it," he encouraged. She spun around and grabbed him by the shirt to shake him. He remained calm and let her work it out herself.

"Don't piss me off or I'll have no problem draining you dry," she growled, voice guttural. A rolling growl tapered into a frustrated grunt when she dropped him to press at her stomach. They stood in silence until the persistent hunger quieted a little.

"Ok, let's go," she announced when she felt stable enough. She really had no other choice. He nodded and began to lead the way. Neither had paid attention to the two vampires that had found their way to them from the smell of blood. One sampled the blood coated cup and the other looked in the direction the human and Jade had gone. They trailed after them, hidden in the shadows, waiting to strike. Jade groaned and squeezed her eyes shut momentarily before opening them again.

"Walking next to you is like parading a starving person through a buffet and telling them they can't eat or they'll get the death sentence," she whined. He chuckled.

"I'm sure it is. But you know, I have some donors back at Sanctuary that can lend a hand. It's a human colony free of vampires. That is, if you can get me there," he offered.

"More tests? I don't blame you for not trusting me but it was bullshit to say that offer of blood was just you being nice. That was a test too. Look, I won't be the one to kill you but I'm running on low fumes here. If we get attacked I might not be able to defend you," Jade explained.

"Oh I know. I just hoped you wouldn't see through my ruse," he answered.

"Yeah, like that's ever going to happen," she replied with an eye roll. His lazy smile just returned as he strolled along. They were almost there when Jade tensed, her nose rising.

"I just can't catch a break," she muttered.

"Vamps?" her annoying human companion spoke up.

"No, werewolves, yes vampires!" she snapped at him. He only shrugged and pulled out his sword.

"Fancy," she deadpanned.

"I know, right?" he answered. She looked back out over the uneven ground they had just crossed, senses alert. Almost instantly Jade lunged at a figure behind him and he jumped at a figure behind her. Jade threw the hissing vampire to the ground and tore into it while he executed a few swipes that removed the arms before they could strike, then disemboweled the creature, followed by a beheading. It fell into a pile at his feet, a neat dissection compared to Jade's method. He glanced at her while cleaning off his sword to take in her feral appearance. Her eyes found his and the deadly glint in her black and white stare gave way to fatigue again. Just like that she dismissed her instincts. It was an amazing thing to see.

"Yeah, this will work out just fine," he said with a nod of approval. For the first time in a very long time Jade smiled. It was small but it was still there. This could be where she belonged, where she was needed. She finally had a purpose again. She wouldn't fail this time.


	3. Sanctuary

The human and vampire companions continued on until they came to a huge walled off section of the city a couple blocks away from the water. Jade looked up at the tall wall and whistled. It must have taken forever to put up something like this. Which begged the question, how long ago was it built? She looked to the human expectantly.

"This used to be a quarantine zone when the outbreak first started but the vampires escaped simply by refusing capture and they spread into the city. We eventually moved in after making sure it was abandoned. It just needed a clean-up. A really big clean up. But just as it was made to keep them in it also does a good job of keeping them out," he explained.

"I'm assuming the way in isn't as stupid as a door," Jade replied after running her sharp gaze over it once more.

"Well, we had to insure a one way in and out deal. It's hard on us but even harder on them because it gives us a simple guarding post. They rarely ever come sniffing around anyways. The one time they did we took them down pretty quick," he mentioned, walking over to the wall and then following it off to the left. It looked like he was counting under his breath. Jade tuned in and heard that he had just hit fifty when he stopped and toed at the ground.

"Here we go," he said, crouching down to dig his fingers under the dirt and broken cobblestones. He began to heave, lifting a slab of concrete. The vampire rolled her eyes before moving to help, jerking it clear out of the way with her left hand.

"Thanks. Usually there's two of us when we go out but I insisted on going alone," he explained.

"You were pretty certain that you'd be coming back with me weren't you?" she taunted.

"What can I say? I'm certain of my skills," he replied with a shrug. She scoffed and shook her head.

"You have no skill. I'm starving and here you are offering fresh blood. How can I turn that down?" she remarked, running her tongue over her fangs purposefully. He gulped but forced a casual smile and ran a hand through his hair.

"I guess so. Um, ladies first?" he inquired with a gesture at the hole in the ground. Jade just smirked and cocked her hip.

"Scrawny humans first?" she mocked in return. He frowned and she smiled triumphantly. He quickly brushed off her jab and climbed down. Jade followed him in, finding the handhold in the dark with her better eyesight. She lowered the slab of concrete down as she lowered herself and then jumped the rest of the way. She landed gracefully at the bottom and squinted her eyes at the torch he held. It was a little too bright in the closed in area for her eyes to look anywhere near it.

"Hey, pretty boy, mind holding that away, or preferably extinguishing it?" she suggested, shielding her eyes.

"Oh, sorry," he replied, holding it away.

"Yeah, no, never mind, that isn't working," she decided, grabbing it from his hand and dropping it in a small puddle of water at their feet.

"Hey, I can't see!" he exclaimed.

"Relax, I can see. Come on," she insisted, grabbing him by the arm and tugging him along. His warmth seemed to burn her hand and made her want to let him go. It was like a reminder that blood flowed in his veins and she wanted it no matter how hard she tried to deny herself that pleasure. When they reached a light up ahead she quickly released him and sped up. She stopped under the source of light and waited for him to catch up. He climbed the handholds and pushed at the covering. Jade rolled her eyes at his struggle and then tugged him back down. She then climbed up and pushed the cover aside. She let him exit first so that she didn't startle anyone. As soon as he was up and out she followed, climbing out to barrels of rifles pointing at her. She wouldn't have cared if her instincts didn't warn her to stay wary of the weapons. She had a feeling they could harm her worse than a normal gun.

"Nice welcome," Jade spat sarcastically.

"Sorry, they're just taking precautions, which I'm sure we **don't **need," he emphasized, pushing the gun of the nearest guard away from her. The guard shot him a glare and then sent a distrustful look at Jade.

"If I wanted you dead I would have already killed you," she hissed.

"That's not really helping your situation," he pointed out.

"Does it look like I care?" Jade questioned.

"No, no it doesn't," he agreed. Jade nodded, pushed aside a guard, and then stopped in front of her tour guide.

"Well?" she prompted impatiently.

"Let's go to the conference room," he said, turning away to lead her once again. She followed at her own pace behind him, idly inspecting what she could see of the apartment block that was the only sanctuary for the surviving humans. The looks she received ranged from pure malice to intrigued curiosity.

"So, I never got your name," he spoke up as they entered the only big building in the area. It must have been used as a processing office at one point.

"I didn't give it," Jade answered. He glanced back at her with that insufferable smile she wanted to wipe off his face.

"My name's Beck, what's yours?" he introduced and then asked in return. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Jade," she finally replied.

"Pretty name," he commented.

"Yeah, like I care," she retorted. He just chuckled and walked on, unaffected by her bitter personality. She hated that she couldn't get a rise out of him. Beck pushed open some double doors and walked into the conference room. It had a long table and many scarred older men and women. A few Beck's age loitered in a group off to the side. He made his way over to them.

"Beck, my man! You're alive! And look at that, you made a friend," a dark skinned guy greeted, leaning a little to the side to see past him. Jade stayed back, quietly scrutinizing the group. Unlike the geeky guy with fear in his eyes, and the smaller chick who was curious, the dark skinned guy was a mix of intrigued and friendly. He didn't seem to care what she was.

"You thought I wouldn't make it? I said I would find her. You have no faith in me," Beck pouted, a hand over his heart like he was wounded.

"Whatever dude. So, who's this?" the other questioned. Beck glanced back at his vampire acquaintance and held out a hand.

"This is Jade," Beck introduced. He then pointed out each of the group members.

"This is Andre, Robbie, and Cat. We've all been childhood friends through this and grew up learning to survive together. We're the only ones willing to actively scout beyond the wall with the older, more veteran, fighters," Beck explained, glancing over at the other people in the room, the scarred older men and women.

"She doesn't talk much does she? **Can** she talk?" Robbie pointed out. Jade growled and her emotionless eyes pinned him down.

"Insult me again and I'll make you eat your own glasses," she hissed at him. He yelped and cringed away from her.

"I uh, I have to go," he stammered, walking away awkwardly. Jade smirked, knowing he soiled himself in fear.

"Damn girl, no need for hostility here. We're your friends," Andre spoke up, nudging her arm. Her body went rigid at his warm touch and she naturally wanted to snap at him but held back.

"It isn't a part of my personality to play nice. It's only gotten worse. Not to mention it's hard to be remotely nice to what I see as my prey," she answered evenly, voice eerily calm. Andre's eyes widened a little but Cat gasped.

"Oh my god," she whimpered fearfully, suddenly taking off out of the room.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" Beck asked her, arms crossed. Jade was beginning to get fed up with his scolding tone.

"It's the truth. I just had a little bit of fun at her expense. What about you? Should I try a little harder to send you running?" she replied, eyes now on Andre.

"Um, well, no, I uh, I'll leave on my own," he stuttered with a nod and a wave. He walked quickly out of the room.

"We really need to get you something to eat," Beck remarked.

"Make it fast," Jade demanded. He opened his mouth to reply when he was interrupted.

"Beck, you've returned. And is this her?" a broad man with a similar countenance to Beck, except for a stronger build and sharper features, questioned as he walked up flanked by a heavily scarred man with a crew cut and a stern faced woman. All three analyzed her with a critical stare she felt threatened by.

"Yeah, it is. Jade, this is my father, Michael, and his crew, Danielle and Jason. They're the ones that taught me, Andre, Robbie, and Cat to scout and fight," Beck introduced. Jade was busy analyzing them as well. After a tense minute more she nodded her acknowledgment and they returned the gesture.

"Take her to be fed. I don't want her losing control in here. You know as well as I that she'll have to be put down should that happen," Michael stated in a matter of fact manner.

"I'm right here asshole, and I may be some creature to you but I can still feel. And FYI, I'm in perfect control of myself," Jade growled, advancing on the offending man. His eyes grew stormy as he waited for her to get closer, before landing a blow to her face and then securing her hands behind her back while she was distracted. He wrestled her to the floor and held her there as she struggled, snarling her fury. He was barely able to hold her down, which meant she wasn't as starved as he had thought. As much as she fought to get free she hadn't tried to bite him which told him that she really was in control. He threw her to the ground hard and then stood up. She pushed off the floor slowly and got to her feet, fighting back the urge to at least punch the man. It wouldn't help to strike back in any way so she forced down the thought. Beck tried to help her up but she just shoved him away.

"Get away from me," she growled, walking away to remove herself in order to calm down again. She didn't go far but it was enough to feel like she had some space to herself.

"You didn't have to do that," Beck said with a hard lined frown at his father.

"I had to make sure. No creature allows itself to be handled in that manner without striking back. She didn't. I'm impressed," he replied, eyes still on Jade.

"I already trust her or I wouldn't have brought her here. You know that. Don't you trust my judgment?" Beck inquired. Michael fell quiet for a moment before looking down at his son. He clasped a hand on his shoulder.

"I do, but as I said, I was taking necessary precautions. Now take her to the infirmary wing and get her fed," he commanded. Beck nodded and walked over to Jade. He carefully placed a hand on her back but she instantly pushed him away.

"Don't touch me," she mumbled, voice already less forceful.

"Come on then," he replied, signaling for her to follow him. She shuffled along behind him while he headed down the hall and turned into the room they used as a type of hospital.

"Take a seat, I'll be right back," he instructed, pushing Jade to sit down on a cot. She complied only because there was no use in fighting. Beck left and was gone long enough for her to wonder when he was coming back. She reclined on the cot and folded her arms behind her head, waiting. He came back in with a jug Jade instantly knew was filled with blood. She could smell it. A small growl left her lips unintentionally and she sat up to scent the air. She hopped off the cot and strode to Beck.

"Easy now. Calm down," he spoke softly, holding out the jug to her. She snatched it from him, yanked off the top with her teeth, and tipped back the jug to chug down the thick life giving liquid. When she reached the last drop she groaned and licked at her lips. She had barely spilled any of it. The blood that didn't make it in her mouth ran off her chin but she caught it to lick it off her hand.

"Shit, I was fucking starving," she mumbled.

"Feel better now?" he asked, taking back the jug and filling it with water at a small sink. He rinsed it and then set it aside.

"Yeah," she replied, feeling more grounded than before.

"Good. Are you up for some training?" he questioned next.

"Training?" she repeated, mildly interested.

"Mhm, you can join our scouting group. With senses and strength like yours it would really help us to have you lead the team," he remarked, hands going to his pockets in a casual matter.

"You would let a vampire lead you?" she asked, disbelief coating her words.

"I trust you, and the others trust me, so therefore they should trust you," he rationalized.

"You're stupid," she stated with a shake of her head. A small smirk pulled at her lips despite her disagreeing tone.

"But my stupidity is funny to you, right?" he teased. Jade only shrugged dismissively.

"Maybe, maybe not. So, this training. Show me," she replied, her voice hinting at a command.

"Ok then, if you insist," he accepted.

"I do," she retorted. He chuckled and led her from the room. They crossed the conference room to another hall branching off it and into a huge room full of various weapons and training gear. The other members of the group were all there. Robbie was hard at work examining gadgets and gizmos on a workbench in the corner, Andre was lifting weights, and Cat was running a small obstacle course. She was pretty quick. Jade supposed it was a good skill to be fast. She would excel at running away at least. Beck brought her in further and as soon as they were noticed, the other three stopped to join them.

"Story time?" Cat asked while she hopped in place.

"Our stories, yes. Then Jade can tell us hers," Beck replied.

"Who said I would?" Jade spat, glaring at him.

"It's a trust and sharing exercise," he responded.

"I don't trust any of you," she remarked.

"That's where this comes in. Don't worry, we'll go first so you feel better," Beck said as he took a seat. The others sat in a circle formation. Jade was the only one standing now.

"Don't patronize me," she warned, crossing her arms.

"Jade, sit," he commanded.

"Fine, but I'm doing it because I want to," she grumbled. She sat down in the open space between Andre and Beck.

"Ok, I'll go first," Beck began after clearing his throat.

"Aww, but I wanted to go," Cat spoke up.

"We'll all get to go," Beck told her.

"Really?" she replied.

"Yes," Beck assured her with a gentle smile.

"Yay!" she exclaimed. Jade rolled her eyes and was glad she wasn't sitting next to Cat. She might just permanently shut her up out of frustration.

"So, I'll go, Cat can go next, then Andre, then Robbie, and then you'll share, Jade," Beck instructed to the nods of others.

"How about, you'll all go, I'll attempt to listen, and maybe I'll share?" she proposed, a faked casual smile on her face. In her dark eyes there was distrust and anger. Beck just sighed but said nothing more to refute her. He just began his story. As most of them here, Beck was born right in the middle of the virus outbreak back. They grew up in this lifestyle, were taught to survive, to fight. His father and mother began gathering survivors, supplies, and weapons early on and then found this place. They established the safe zone known as Sanctuary with their motivation being to keep him safe. They wanted their son to grow up in a place that was stationary and well defended. His mother died on a raid which left him with his father who seemed to become sterner and closed off after his wife's passing. He had been here ever since. Cat was born three years after Beck. By then Sanctuary was slowing becoming stronger. Cat's mother gave birth here and died during the process.

Her father stuck around long enough to find her brother, who they had lost days before. He had been turned, and killing him drove her father crazy with depression and he died in a suicidal run into a pack of vampires, taking as many down as he could before he was killed. Cat then found comfort with Robbie who found his own way to Sanctuary after his mother died getting him there. It had always been them two and his grandmother but she was the first to get taken. His father had left them a long time before that when he was a kid. He was only a year younger then Beck, which begs the question why his father would leave them at such a desperate time. He did though, and the journey to the one place they knew would be safe took his last parent from him. He kept himself busy by lending his presence to Cat who was also pretty much alone. Andre was the same age as Robbie but he was the last of the group to arrive. He made the trip all by himself.

Before the virus broke out he was living with his grandmother who was mentally unstable. She was the reason he had escaped their house in time, her near constant ramblings warning him of vampires that had gotten into the house. She kept them distracted with a bat long enough for him to get out. She didn't make it but he made it his goal to find shelter. Running into a wounded person in his wanderings gave him the information he was looking for. After the person passed he made sure he wouldn't turn and then headed for Sanctuary. Each of them had their own hardships but they all agreed that Andre's must have been the hardest as he made the trip mostly alone. Jade sat quietly as they each explained, voices heavy and Cat crying through some parts. When Andre had finished a silence fell over them before they looked at Jade expectantly. She glared back in return. A hand on her knee made her look at Beck.

"Get your hand off me or you'll lose it and I won't share anything," she growled. He raised his hands, trying to placate her, and then let them fall in his lap. Jade sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It felt like it had all happened so recently but in reality it had been years. She admitted to herself that she was scared of reliving it but at the same time she wanted to get it out, let someone know the fucked up things she'd been through, if only for some comfort and relief.

"Ok, it all started back in 2006 when we were forced to abandon our home. The spread of the virus had gotten worse and we had to leave. I was only eight years old and my younger brother was five. For years we traveled with our parents, learning to fight and survive, until one day we were ambushed…" Jade began, voice emotionless to keep back the pain. She told her story with a blank face and monotone voice. Only when her brother's death was mentioned did she falter. After it was all out the group of humans remained quiet, heartbroken for their new member. They now understood how she had overcome the instinct to kill. They had a new appreciation for her and they showed it with Andre patting her back, Beck rubbing her arm, Robbie offering her a sad smile, and Cat grabbing her in a hug. Jade was new to such forms of affection, and she may not have accepted it before, but in all honesty she missed it. Sharing their life stories did what it was supposed to do, bring them closer as a group.


	4. Discovery

**Days seem to fly by when you're busy. Sorry for the long wait.**

* * *

><p><em>2035<em>

With years passing by, the human colony slowly came to accept Jade among them. She proved herself time and time again to the point that they had no choice but to trust her. It took a lot for Michael to stop setting up ridiculous tests, but eventually he did. Jade was tired of random injured humans purposely trying to tempt her, or being called to defend them, or even getting attacked herself. It was all to make sure she didn't retaliate, ditch, or kill any of them in return. She saw it as a little unfair but understood so her complaints went no further than her crew. As planned, she trained with the four humans and became the squad leader. As well as being her team, they were also her closest friends. She hadn't ever had any and restricted any possibility for that to happen because she didn't want the day to come where they would be taken away in some form or another. But this group of young men and a single woman grew up sturdy and she felt they had a better chance at survival than most. Which was what her job included, ensuring the survived on their scouting missions.

She did that and more. Any close calls were tempered by throwing herself in danger. After all, she could take a little more beating than they could. She healed faster than them but slower than she should seeing as she only drank blood from other vamps they fought. With humans hard to come by, animals were now wary of everyone once more, hiding as soon as their paths crossed. She figured most vampires were living the same way, but with a broken mind, they were even more savage than before. Jade hadn't seen a talking vampire in some time now. At this rate, she would be the only one. A hand came down heavily on her shoulder with a slap but she just rolled her eyes after snapping out of her thoughts. She knew it was Beck trying to bring her back into the present and out of her many musings. They were in the middle of gearing up to go out again. Jade finished before them, not needing much in the way of weapons, and sat down to think. It looked like they were ready, or close to it, now.

"Why are you off being a loner again babe?" he questioned her playfully. Jade fought to stop herself from rolling her eyes again. In all the ten years that she knew Beck she had to admit that he had grown into his adult body nicely. They had met when he was eighteen, when he was a scrawny teen. Now he was twenty eight and better built. That also held true for both Andre and Robbie who were a year younger. Even Robbie didn't look so useless anymore. Cat was two years younger than them and wasn't as physical but she too had grown well, gaining toned muscle. It was weird to watch them grow up while she remained the same. Sure, being what she was gave her a great figure, but she was still, and would forever be, nineteen. The thought alone agitated her.

"Don't call me that. What do you want?" she retorted, black and white eyes narrowed on him. He shrugged and hopped up on the table next to her.

"Just checking up on you. The others are still getting ready," he answered.

"I hate how fast you get ready. Then I'm always stuck with you for a chat," she replied, scathingly enough to mean it but not for him to take it hard. Beck was well versed in what the vampire said compared to what she meant and rarely ever took anything too hard unlike Andre who tended to avoid her bitter words, or Robbie who just plain ran away. Cat seemed to take it fine mostly because Jade dulled her words due to the fact that it grated on her nerves to hear Cat cry should she get hurt.

"Aw come on, you know you like my company," he joked, nudging her. She shoved him back and he almost took a tumble off the table. Her strength was well above the average human's but she often wondered just how much stronger she would be on an all human blood diet. Once in a while she would get to have human blood but she suspected it wouldn't be something done a lot. They wouldn't want her too strong or unintentionally triggering her bloodlust. She felt she had that under control but even she didn't want to risk it.

"No, I don't. Especially if it interrupts my thoughts," she responded, frown in place.

"What were you pondering this time?" he asked, glancing at the team to see they were doing a last minute check. He pulled out his handgun and checked to make sure it was loaded then reached back to slide out the precision blade strapped to his back. It was nice and sharp. He shifted in his minimal body plating and then rested his dark brown eyes on her.

"None of your business," she answered, sliding off the table to join the others. All Jade needed was her own handgun and her two knives she fashioned out of the two halves of her scissors. The switchblade she kept in her room, safely put away. She wore minimal body plating but less than her human comrades. She needed to be able to move and too much would make that hard. Her accuracy was mostly always fatal so she didn't need many firearms either. Andre was the heavy hitter of the group with his shotgun and grenades. Cat had throwing knives and two small submachine guns. Robbie had a pistol as well but he favored his sniper rifle because he rarely if ever was neck deep in a fight like the rest of them. He often planned routes for them and was a source of ammunition and supplies. They all carried a good amount of their own but he held extra, just in case.

"Are you guys ready yet? It'll get too dark by the time we go if you're not," Jade asked them, stopping by Cat.

"_That's what I said. But you know Robbie, he's slower than a snail in a snail race."_

"Rex! Don't make me reprogram you!" Robbie warned, lifting his hand to scold what looked like an average digital wrist watch but held so much more. It was an AI Robbie had been working on for years and had finally made after scouring for the required parts. Now that it was fully operational, it was just as annoying as it was helpful.

"_Sure you will. I'd like to see you try, nerd."_

It was highly offensive too. Jade, and everyone really, wondered why it had an urban accent and was rude to almost everyone. For some reason it liked to try and flirt or compliment Jade all the time. It irked her but she's only broken it once out of spite. It would have been four times if she hadn't been held back. She hated the thing but Robbie made it to tap into the satellite system that was still revolving out in space. With some tinkering he gave them a GPS system. It wasn't exact, since it only had information on places before the apocalypse happened, so many times they would reach a blocked off section or a chasm, and have to plan around it. For the most part it gave them a sense of location so that they weren't completely blind.

"You're lucky I'm a nerd or you wouldn't be created!" Robbie countered. Jade smacked the hand that the AI Rex was strapped to and stood in front of Robbie.

"Quit fighting with your watch and let's go. We're wasting time," she stated.

"_Yeah, I'm with hot, dark, and Gothic."_

Jade growled and wrapped her slender but strong fingers around the AI on Robbie's arm.

"Robbie, I will crush your arm in order to break this thing if we don't get moving **now**!" she threatened. He squeaked and she released him so that he could run ahead of them out the door. Cat followed with a worried crease of her brows.

"Damn, girl. No need for violence," Andre spoke up. Jade shot him a look before starting for the door. Andre and Beck exchanged a glance, shrugged, and followed her out. They were now in the conference room where Michael, Danielle, and Jason were busy talking. They stopped when the rest of Team Beta arrived. They were naturally Team Alpha and went out on missions to exterminate large groups of vampires in the more dangerous sides of town while Team Beta was in charge of gathering supplies. Michael stepped forward now that they were all there.

"We've been discussing what needs to be done and we've come to the conclusion that sooner rather than later we will run out of supplies. We have a good enough stock here for now. It'll last us a good while. So what I want you to do is start looking for the lab that was rumored to be on the far side of town. We need to start trying to find answers," he informed the group. Each had their own shocked reaction. Jade was the only one unaffected.

"What made you think we're up for that now?" she inquired, arms crossed and posture straight. She eyed him warily, as she often did. His stance toward her was always to protect the others. She knew this, but it didn't mean she liked how he treated her. Lately he was a little more polite and formal but regardless, she was always on the defensive with him.

"You've shown you're capable. All of you have done a good job helping this colony. I can even say with honesty that you've become a trustworthy leader," he replied, scanning over each of them before landing on Jade. She wanted to thank him but remained quiet. He didn't deserve her gratitude. She knew she wasn't a danger long before now, as had the others. Now that he believed it she was more grateful for no more tests than the fact that he trusted her.

"Then we should head out as soon as possible," Beck said, stepping up to his father. He nodded.

"Take this map and line it up with your GPS. It's hidden so you might have to look for passageways and secret doors. It's located underground. There are a lot of vampires hanging around the area the last time I was over there so be ready to fight your way in. Good luck," he instructed, handing Beck the map. He passed it to Robbie to decipher, saluted his father, and then headed for the door. Jade strode behind him and the others behind her. They weaved their way through the complex and exited out the manhole. The guards surrounding it wished them luck. They dropped down, traveled through the tunnel, and then back up to the surface with Jade now in the lead. She hefted aside the cover and climbed out, nose to the air and eyes searching. In order for her to join them they always left as soon as the sun was close to gone. But the later it got, the more vampires there were, so they tried to make it back before then.

"Clear," she called back to them. They each climbed out and Jade replaced the cover.

"So we're going to head down that street on the right and then turn left. There's another right turn and then it's a straight walk from there but we might have to detour at any time," Robbie announced, Rex's small flashing blue screen reflected on his glasses. Jade nodded and began walking down the road he pointed out. She took out her blades and held them at the ready. Everyone else followed her example. The journey seemed to go by quickly and would have been short if it hadn't been for a collapsed building blocking off the street they needed. They had to travel around, encountering three vampires on the way, before they were back on track. When they hit the straightaway, Jade froze. The crew's eyes were instantly on her.

"Get down," she whispered in alarm. They all huddled behind a broken down semi-truck and looked to her for an explanation.

"Your father wasn't kidding. There are a lot of them past this point," she directed at Beck.

"Will we have to fight right through it?" Andre questioned. Jade looked to him and suddenly an idea formed.

"We won't have to if we lower the number. I've got a plan," she replied.

"_Does it involve trussing up Robbie as bait?"_

Robbie glared at Rex but held his tongue. Jade's brow rose in amusement.

"Close, but not exactly," she admitted.

"Hey!" Robbie gasped under his breath.

"I'm going to draw their attention to that gas station across the street. Andre, I want you ready to set up some explosives by the gas pumps. Hopefully there's trace amounts that'll blow the whole thing. Beck, you'll watch his back. Robbie, I want you to find a perch and take out any stragglers on the outskirts of the blast and Cat you're going with him as back up. Is everything clear?" Jade relayed. They all nodded and then separated to their posts. Jade was the first to run out, heading straight for the multiple groups of vampires milling around. She sped up and rammed both blades into the spine of the nearest vampire. She tore it almost in half when she pulled free. The other vampires hissed and began stalking closer. They had a nasty reaction to her every time they came in contact.

Jade figured it must be that they either smelled human on her or were angered that she kills them. Maybe it was even a combination of the two. Whatever it was, no vampire liked her and didn't see her as one of them. She felled another that jumped at her and another right after that before running to the gas station. She glanced back to make sure the hoard was chasing her and led them behind the station first to buy time. Meanwhile, Beck and Andre were busy setting up out front. A few vampires in the back of the group stopped to attack but Beck quickly took them out. The rest that hadn't followed were dropping like flies with Robbie's marksmanship on top of the semi. Cat sat next to him and gunned down any that spotted them up there. All was going to plan so far. Jade burst in the back door and ran through the small building, ducking through the broken glass of the front door.

"Andre!" she screamed in warning. He looked up and signaled that he wasn't done yet. She growled her frustration and threw back the first vampire to get through. It took down the others fighting to get through but they were still spilling out. Beck rushed over to help her keep them back. Caught up in the fight they didn't hear Andre calling to them until he appeared next to them, blowing back an advancing vampire with his shotgun.

"Let's get out of here!" he yelled over the snarls around them. Jade lunged for a vampire behind him, stabbing deep into its stomach and shoving it away. She cleared a path and made sure they ran ahead of her. The explosion shook the ground under them and sent them stumbling to the ground. The vampires closest to the blast were practically incinerated while the ones furthest were tossed into surrounding buildings.

"Ha, ha, whoo! That was a blast! Get it?" Andre shouted as he rolled over to sit up. Beck chuckled as he sat up. Jade pushed off the ground and scanned the destruction for any movement.

"Did we get 'em?" Cat asked as she walked up to Jade. Robbie was clumsily trying to climb down and fell heavily to the ground with a girly scream. Jade laughed at him before answering.

"Yeah, that should take care of most of them. Let's hurry before more show up," she suggested. Robbie wined as he got to his feet and shifted the supplies bag before jogging over. Together they quickly ran down the previously crowded street. At the end of the street they stopped and glanced around.

"What now?" Andre wondered, looking to Robbie who was busy checking Rex for information.

"_Stop poking at me, fool! I don't have that kind of information!"_

"If the lab is located underground then we really don't have access to that information," Beck agreed.

"Well, which one of these buildings looks like it could have a secret hidden door into a lab we aren't completely sure even has the answers we're looking for?" Andre stated, a little sarcastically with hands gesturing to the buildings in question.

"How about we check them all?" Cat suggested.

"Check them all? That would take days!" Andre replied.

"We could keep coming back…" Robbie spoke up.

"It doesn't sound like a solid idea," Beck disagreed. While the gang all argued over what to do next, Jade was busy wandering the area. She sensed something, but she was having a hard time figuring out what it was. Her long dormant instincts were reacting against it, bringing on the need to destroy the supposed threat. She paced across the street and then stopped in front of a tall, angular, structure that had a mostly glass entrance. It might have looked elegant back when it was still running. The strange scent reached her nose again and promptly disappeared but it still evoked a reaction from her. She bared her teeth, a low growl rising from her throat. Her senses sharpened, and suddenly, the noise from her human companions was too much.

"Shut up!" she screamed at them. They fell quiet and looked at her with varying degrees of alarm.

"The vampires, they were gathered around here for a reason. Why?" she remarked. When they didn't respond, she climbed the steps up to the entrance of the suspicious building.

"I'll tell you why. They sensed what was in here," she told them. They exchanged uncertain looks but took the broken stairs up to look inside.

"What's in there?" Cat questioned.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, I don't like it," Jade answered. She stepped inside only for Beck to grip her by the arm and stop her.

"**You** don't like it or your **instincts** tell you that you don't like it?" he asked.

"We'll have to see," she replied. His brows furrowed at that but he let her go. She led the way inside, her body tense and her senses on edge. Whatever was causing her to react this way couldn't be good, could it? There was only one way to find out. They walked through the lobby and continued past the front desk to the hall leading off to the right. Jade stopped to reevaluate the direction of their destination and brought her crew to a door marked with an 'employees only' sign. She pulled it open and found a room at the bottom of a flight of stairs. It looked like a lab of some sort, but it was relatively ordinary and small.

"This can't be it, can it?" Robbie said as he looked around. Beck signaled to remain quiet, keeping his eyes on Jade. She explored the room with careful steps and stopped to stand in front of an askew shelf laden with all kinds of glass tubes and beakers. She reached around to grip at the back of the shelf and yanked on it, sliding the wood against the grimy tiled floor under it. When it was out of the way she ran her hand over the wall behind it.

"There's a door here. Look, there's a slight draft and a seam," she pointed out, a finger tracing the edge of the ajar door.

"Are we muscling it open or finding a switch?" Andre asked, seeing no other way in.

"No explosions. This place could come down on top of us. We'll have to look for a switch, if there is one," Beck answered. Jade rolled her eyes and dug her fingers into the gap.

"No need. It's already open," she told them. They gathered around as she pulled the heavy door open just enough for them to slip inside. Jade cringed at the smell coming from the passage while the humans were clearly unaffected.

"Jade?" Beck questioned, a hand moving to her shoulder. She pushed him away before he made contact and then darted into the darkness beyond without a word. Beck quickly pulled out a small flashlight and headed in after her, the circle of light helping the others to see. Jade was well ahead of them, having taken the stairs two at a time and skidding to a halt in the room at the bottom. It looked to be some kind of storage room. She left the room and quickly strode down the long hall outside, leaving her companions to scurry after her. She went down each winding hall, following the source of her agitation. They passed offices and rooms built for testing but were long since abandoned or in a critical state of disarray. Jade didn't slow down until the source she was looking for suddenly disappeared, leaving her clueless in one of the testing rooms. Beck came in first, breathing a little heavy but otherwise fine.

"Is this were they did those experiments we heard about? Do you think this is one of the labs they created the virus in?" he wondered, just as the others entered. Jade only shook her head.

"No vampire has been in here. Just humans, and something else," she responded, walking on light feet towards the back of the room. Her eyes cut through the dark, noticing a blinking light on a panel by the far wall, a tank of some sort attached to it. Jade cautiously stepped up to it and carefully brushed off some dust that had settled over the top. The contraption was at an angle, the top tilted toward the wall, and was long in length.

"What do you think it is?" Andre spoke up, voice hushed. Robbie opened his mouth to give an answer but Cat cut him off before he could.

"A metal coffin," she interjected. He scoffed and shook his head.

"No, a cryotank. Man, I've never seen one before. I've only seen blueprints. I never knew they actually made them," he said in awe at the discovery.

"Yeah, I think you're right. And it looks like it's still in use," Jade told them while peering into the machine. She could barely make out the shadow of a figure through the frost on the glass.

"Should we even be messing with it?" Andre asked, hesitant.

"Well, what if the person inside is a potential start of a cure; or better yet, is the cure? Anything and everything should be checked, just in case," Beck pointed out.

"Before you guys start arguing again I'm just gonna open it and find out," Jade silenced them, her steady tone leaving no room for disagreement. She moved to stand at the panel and pressed the button next to the blinking red light. The light turned green and a hissing filled the air. Everyone but Jade took a hasty step back, weapons at the ready. The door of the tank popped open and cool air billowed out to curl like a frozen ice cloud at their feet. Jade lifted the door the rest of the way and waited for the cloud to disappear. Not that she needed it, but more for the humans waiting behind her, a light inside the machine came on with a soft, white, glow. The image of a sleeping young woman came into view.

Jade gazed down at her and couldn't help but find her beautiful. She didn't know how long she had been here but she was perfectly preserved. The sight of her gave way to a scent that rippled the perfect control Jade had mastered for years. She flinched back as the smell reached her nose and she growled. Almost like the sound was a trigger, the young woman's eyes opened, and coffee brown irises were overcome with a golden yellow glow. She unleashed a threatening snarl of her own and bared sharp teeth. Jade hissed and made to attack but she was already tackled to the ground. The young woman displayed amazing strength over her, pinning her down with ease, sharp black nails digging into, and past her minimal armor, to cut at her pale skin. The gold eyes met hers and hardened. Her gaze was focused.

"Vampire," she accused gruffly, latching a clawed hand around Jade's neck. Jade tried to bite in retaliation but couldn't reach. Instead, she gripped the unknown person by the neck as well. She was trying to push her off but she wasn't moving even an inch. She had never felt so weak before. Being what she was, a meager diet didn't impact her greatly when compared to humans. But this person, whatever she was, felt like a major threat. She was a threat, and Jade had a feeling that even if she had been at her strongest, she still wouldn't have been able to match this stranger's strength. She disliked the thought greatly. A click of a gun alerted them both to the humans who had been ignored in the scuffle. Beck was pointing his pistol at the stranger.

"Let her go," he demanded. The tanned young woman narrowed her eyes at him but released Jade to stand and step away. Instead, she stumbled and fell back to lean heavily on the cryotank behind her. It seemed she needed some time to recuperate. However, Jade jumped to her feet and prepared to pounce but Beck yanked her back before she could.

"Stop," he ordered, jerking her back again for emphasis. She pulled away from him with a sneer.

"Who are you?" he asked the young woman. Her eyes flicked from one face to another before lingering on Jade. She scowled and returned the glare then settled her gaze on Beck.

"My name's Victoria Vega," she replied.

"Do you remember anything?" he questioned next.

"No," she answered, shaking her head. She seemed to fully realize this and the revelation caused her unbalanced frame to sag further. Her sharp teeth disappeared and so did her sharpened nails. Her eyes were the last to fade away. She stood there now, looking like any average person. The crew put away their weapons and Beck maneuvered around Jade to get closer.

"It's ok, we're here to help," he assured her when he saw her hands curl into fists. Jade's glare worsened, her white irises drawing Victoria's eyes to her. Their eyes locked and a heated glaring contest ensued. Jade didn't like the chick one bit, and she was determined to show it from now until they got rid of her. Whatever she was, Jade's natural reaction was to hate her and gain instinctual hate in return. Seeing Beck's friendly reaction to her set Jade on edge. She couldn't very well tell him that befriending Victoria was a dangerous idea because he had done this before with her, and as far as she knew, this stranger didn't eat people like she did. It made him a tad bit safer pursuing her trust than it had been getting Jade's so she couldn't really complain. There was nothing she could do or say so she stepped away to lean on the panel responsible for opening the cryotank. The rest of her crew, full of curiosity, gathered around the new discovery. In a second they would be questioning her, learning about her, and generally being the friendly people they were. Jade on the other hand, wanted no part in it.


	5. New Addition

In what Jade deemed a long ass time to be conversing out in the open, the crew were now educated and up to date with Victoria who preferred the name Tori. Jade made a mental note to call her by anything other than that, just to mess with her. The crew introduced themselves and then Tori recounted what she could remember, which wasn't very much. She had been kidnapped and experimented on. She had been taken at fifteen and spent two years in the lab before she was put to sleep in the tank. Then came the torturous tests she had undergone in a futile effort to find a cure for the vampire virus. The reason she possessed the traits they saw was because the scientists only came close with canine DNA, specifically, a wolf's. She was literally bred to fight the virus, and in turn, it caused her to react in a hostile manner towards an infected. However, the results of the tests weren't exactly what the scientists had been looking for so they shelved her, for lack of a better word, in case their new approach to the problem didn't solve anything, they could always fall back on her.

She explained that at one point she had heard that she was one of thirty more like her, but the others were spread out all over the world in similar labs. There was no evidence to any other in this lab even though she said there was another. A search of the place turned up nothing. Further questions concerning her life before she was kidnapped turned up nothing. She knew she had a family but that was about it. Whatever they did to her caused her to forget a lot. She knew it caused amnesia because she remembered long black outs and gaps in her memory. In return for her information, the gang told her the year and the status of the virus. She looked concerned when she heard. Jade looked away from her expression, wondering why she even cared. What was she going to do anyway? Was she going to play superhero and save the world with her fellow humans-turned-mutts? Jade scoffed to herself and crossed her arms, beginning to zone out, but the conversation yanked her back in.

"You should come with us!" Cat exclaimed excitedly.

"We could use anyone we can get," Andre added. Beck and Robbie nodded along in agreement.

"Is that why she's with you? From what I heard no vampire could be trusted. What makes her so special?" Tori questioned, voice rigid. Jade ignored her, adamantly looking away.

"Jade has a strong hold on her humanity. I don't think she ever lost it, actually. I recruited her myself. She's here to help in any way she can, just as you'll be," Beck answered. Tori felt that what he said could be trusted so she only nodded but kept a wary eye on the vampire. Everything she was built for went towards the instincts she now had to destroy her enemy. But Jade could be trusted, or so these people say. She would take their word for it but the second Jade gave her a reason she wouldn't hesitate to tear her to pieces. She knew for sure Jade felt the same way. It was a tenuous cease-fire at best.

"If you say so," Tori replied, eyeing Jade distrustfully.

"Good, so let's get going," Andre spoke up yet no one moved. It looked like Tori would be returning with them. Jade knew she couldn't change their minds so she didn't say anything against it. That didn't mean she would accept it amiably either. She was determined to make Tori leave in any way she was able. The tension seemed to keep them in place. Beck was the first to move. He sighed and turned to lead the way out. Both Robbie and Cat looked from wolf hybrid to vampire cautiously before following him. Andre offered Tori a smile and patted her shoulder before walking out too. Tori didn't trust Jade behind her so she waited with a sharp glare for her to go first. Jade realized this and smirked.

"Scared?" she taunted.

"Not even close. I just don't believe you won't try to attack me when my back is turned," Tori replied. Jade's smirk turned devious before she shrugged.

"Hell, I'm not sure I believe myself either," she stated. Tori's eyes narrowed further and Jade met them head on.

"Jade, come on," Beck's irritated voice told her. He was standing at the door, giving her an exasperated look. Jade ignored him, her eyes still on Tori.

"After you Vega," she said with a sweep of her hands at the exit. Tori faltered but looked at Beck to see him gripping the bridge of his nose tiredly. Her temper simmered down a little. She didn't want to cause problems for her new allies so she began walking towards the exit but stopped to growl at Jade as she passed her.

"If you try anything I won't hesitate to kill you," she threatened.

"Right back at you," Jade responded, face emotionless. Tori slowly turned away and eventually left the room with Beck. Jade tagged along, but at a distance. She never planned to attack Tori, just make her think she would. Jade may sometimes play unfair, and cheat every so often, but she wasn't a coward. Only cowards would strike when their opponent's back was turned. So, the group retraced their steps outside with Beck at the head and Jade at the back. The closer they were to the exit, the more Tori seemed to tense. Jade caught her scenting the air. Just as she had been on edge going in, Tori was now on edge going out. The reek of vampire must be stifling to her. Jade wondered just how many more they would have to go through to get back to safety. Tori may even attract more. With that thought Jade sped past the new addition, with minor friction between them, but she didn't let it slow her down. She made it to Beck before he could leave the building.

"Wait," she ordered, shoving him back a little. He opened his mouth to protest but she just silenced him and glanced out. Just as she suspected, there was another group of vampires surrounding them. Jade could see them scenting the air, searching for the smell she herself reacted strongly to.

"We'll have to cut a path straight through and try to outrun them. This won't be a stroll home like it was getting here. She's like a damn beacon to them," Jade told him. Beck glanced back at Tori who strode over to them.

"What's wrong?" she asked, brows furrowed. Her body was still tense as was Jade's. It only got worse now that they were closer to each other again.

"Jade was the one who found you because you gave off a scent that was easy to track. The other vampires can smell you too. They were gathered around here when we arrived so we cleared them out, but it looks like more took their place. Wherever we go they'll follow," Beck explained. Tori looked thoughtful a moment before a determined expression covered her features.

"Jade and I can cut us a path. All you'll have to do is gun down any that follow," she suggested. Jade's eyes widened at that and she wasted no time making her dislike for the plan known.

"Who are you to suddenly be making orders? I'm team leader here. Without me you wouldn't even be free from your icy prison so I suggest you leave the planning to me," she snapped.

"Is that so? Well what else did you have in mind, hm? Because I'm sure whatever you think up will be **so** much better," Tori retorted.

"Watch it dog, or I'll-" Jade snarled, temper bristling along with Tori's.

"You'll what? If I remember correctly, you couldn't put up much of a fight against me," Tori taunted, stepping forward. Jade hissed in offense and advanced on her but Beck stepped between them, a hand pressing at both their shoulders.

"Ok, stop it you two! Jade, we're going with Tori's plan, no exceptions! Now let's go before it gets any later," he demanded. Tori nodded and stepped back but Jade pressed forward.

"Just because you're the god damn prototype to the cure you get total leniency don't you? You think you can just waltz in and automatically you can be trusted!" Jade snarled, shoving Beck out of the way.

"Jade-" he began to protest, taking a step, but Jade just pushed him again and he fell. Tori growled at her treatment of him.

"What? Jealous?" she prodded with a smile.

"Of you? Hell no! I'm just outraged that you gain utter trust just because of your status while I was treated like a fucking bomb waiting to go off even though I've starved myself and fought hard to gain the trust and respect I have today!" Jade countered, each word lit with fire. She was positively fuming. Tori's smug smirk slowly fell to be replaced with an expression of thoughtful silence.

"So fuck you mutt," Jade continued, jabbing a finger in Tori's chest before stomping out. The crew stood there at a loss for words. All those years together and they had never seen Jade so full of emotion besides anger. It was present here too but it was also accompanied by hurt, sadness, and frustration. She felt like all she had done was nothing compared to how easily Tori had been accepted. She supposed she shouldn't take it so hard seeing as the humans had learned from her that strangers, and even what they thought to be monsters, could be trusted in certain circumstances. This was one of them. But no matter what she tried to tell herself, her rage prevented her from agreeing to it. She made her way down the uneven steps but froze and growled when a vampire suddenly dropped from above where it had been climbing the building. The force with which it launched itself caused the collision into Jade to be much stronger. She hit the concrete stairs with a cry of pain and struggled to fight off her attacker.

As soon as it was slayed she was surrounded by three more. She got to her feet and readied herself to fight. Behind her she could hear gunshots and shouts but she couldn't check on them, she had to stay focused. They took turns attacking, playing with her. She dodged or countered and managed to kill one. The second she had gained some leverage the two remaining rushed her. She fought back to the best of her ability but she spent more time in defense than offence. Slowly they overcame her, one of them sinking their fangs in her shoulder. She screamed and yanked loose but the other pounced to snap at her too. She flung out a fist to crack against the skull but it quickly recovered and jumped at her again. She blocked and the fangs cut into her forearm. She flung the vampire away with a swipe of her arm but the other threw her to the ground. Bloody teeth aimed for her throat, but suddenly, it was gone. Tori was standing over her, canine attributes active. She held the vampire by its neck in her sharp claws. She slammed it with great force into the pavement and then tore the head off. The other vampire Jade was fighting launched at her but she caught it and easily dispatched it too.

"Come on," Tori urged her with a rumble to her voice, holding out a hand to help Jade up. She smacked it away and pushed herself to her feet, a hand pressed to the bloody bite at her shoulder.

"Get going, I'll cover you," she reluctantly stated. Tori dropped her hand with a nod and began sprinting back to the group. Jade knocked back some attackers but Tori outright tossed them aside like rag dolls, some hitting buildings. They made it back to the group and Tori signaled for them to follow her. Jade pushed herself to match Tori's speed and directed her to the street they needed. So, without a word, they ended up falling into Tori's plan. They were lucky to outrun most of the hoard before the humans in the group tired out. When they were far enough away they slowed and took down the remaining persistent vampires before stopping completely. Everyone besides Jade and Tori were bent over gasping for air.

"Sit down and rest. We'll keep a look out," Tori told them with a kind smile Jade scowled at.

"See, they can get along. Tori's working with Jade way faster than any of us," Andre pointed out to Beck as they all sat down.

"Again with the tag team Vega? I thought I told you that I call the shots. If anything, you're along for the ride," Jade spat at her. Tori put her hands on her hips and stared down Jade.

"Or maybe not," Beck replied with a heavy sigh.

"Excuse me? Did my last plan not work? No? I may be new here but I have a say just as much as you do. I'm only trying to help," Tori retorted. Jade stomped over to her, their faces inches apart.

"What are you talking about? They're getting along fine," Andre joked with a wave of his hand at the two. Beck shook his head at the disorder, Cat giggled at Andre's antics, and Robbie squeaked in fear when Jade suddenly shoved Tori. The other girl pushed back and then Jade tackled her in return. The group stood but stayed where they were. They wanted to stop it but at the same time they had no choice but to let it continue and hopefully peter out on its own. It was too dangerous to get between them. They hit the ground throwing punches as well as scratches but Tori had enough after Jade bit her. She tossed Jade off and she slammed into a nearby car with the force. It shook and some pieces fell loose. Jade forced herself up but stumbled, giving Tori time to grab her by the neck and slam her back into the car again, holding her there. Jade fought to get free but she couldn't.

"Ok, break it up you guys! Stop it! You're scaring Robbie and making Cat cry!" Beck shouted. He grabbed Tori by the shoulder and tugged on her but she knocked him back with her free hand. He fell over hard. The rough treatment of her only form of family fueled Jade's rage. Tori was already lost to her own temper while Jade was still in control of her own. Tori was young and wasn't taught how to stop the animal side of her from lashing out. She obviously didn't learn on her own either. Jade had years under her belt, but even that didn't fend Tori off, so she let her fury grow without control for the first time in a long time. She dug her nails deep into Tori's arm and yanked her hand away. Her inhuman speed took her behind Tori where she body tackled her against the car, holding her there with every bit of strength she had.

"Calm down before you stupidly kill the only allies you have," she grumbled roughly in the hybrid's ear. When she wouldn't stop struggling, Jade tightened her hold and tried again.

"You hurt him. You're no better than a vampire," she hissed lowly. Tori froze at that, shocked out of her rampage. Her body sagged and she stopped resisting. Jade waited to make sure she gained back her senses before fully releasing her. She stepped away and yanked Beck back up on his feet. He had still been on the ground, too shocked at seeing Jade use words instead of more violence to settle a disagreement.

"What?" Jade questioned him, a brow raised and arms crossed. Beck just smiled knowingly and Jade scoffed.

"Whatever. I could've just let her waste you all but I didn't. I don't hate you guys. I tolerate you," she explained. Beck only stared at her longer and eventually a small smile graced Jade's face. She punched his arm lightly but was back on guard when Tori turned to lean her back against the car. She took one look at Jade's protective stance in front of Beck, and by extension, the others, and hung her head.

"I'm sorry. I just got so angry and…I couldn't stop it," she apologized.

"You've gained no points from me. In fact, you're in the negative. But I'm pretty sure you managed at least a point with everyone else for getting a hold of yourself," Jade stated disapprovingly.

"It's true. You didn't mean to get angry and you stopped. That's what's important," Cat spoke up with an encouraging smile. The smile was infectious, and soon, Tori was smiling too.

"I guess so. But I really am sorry. If Jade hadn't-" Tori began only for said vampire to cut in.

"Yeah, you're sorry. We know. You're welcome for stopping you from becoming a killer. Now can we get going? We're sitting ducks out here," Jade demanded.

"She's right. Let's go," Beck said with a nod.

"Finally," Jade muttered as she strode away in the direction they needed to go. With her in the lead Tori fell to the back. She figured one of them should be on each end of the traveling humans so that they remained protected. On the way back they encountered a few more vampires than they had when they headed out but it wasn't as bad as Jade thought. They reached Sanctuary just in time. Everyone else may have had all the time in the world but Jade didn't. The first rays of the morning sun were only an hour away at most. She stopped at the hidden slab of concrete and waited for the group to gather with arms crossed and a hip cocked.

"What are you waiting for?" Robbie wondered. Jade glanced at Tori who looked up when she felt Jade's icy stare on her.

"Get she-wolf to do it for you. I'm running low and she's perfectly capable," she replied. Tori stepped forward while Jade kicked away some of the dirt to show the crack in the ground. Tori dug her fingers in and hauled the chunk out of the way. The humans dropped in first and then Jade followed them. Tori jumped in, landing gracefully but bumping into Jade in the dim light.

"Watch it Vega," she snapped, shoving Tori away automatically. Tori stumbled back and caught herself on the crumbling wall. She frowned and dusted off her hands then replaced the cover. Darkness blinded her and suddenly she was panicking. With the bright light and smoke of a torch in such a small passage it was less than ideal. They could use flashlights while Jade closed her eyes but she refused to and pointed out that it was a waste of power. Normally, Jade was the one to lead them through, like a human train connected by holding each other's hands. Tori was not told this so naturally she felt lost until a cold hand touched hers. She flinched back but the slender fingers quickly gripped her by the wrist.

"It's just me, relax. I'm giving you Cat's hand so that you're connected with us when I lead you through," Jade's voice informed her. Jade directed her hand to Cat's warm, small, one and they held on.

"You can see?" Tori asked her, a bit of awe in her tone.

"'Course I can. I see you can't," she replied, smug. Tori just rolled her eyes, not bothering to explain that she could when she changed, and received a flick on the nose.

"Ow!" she gasped, rubbing it with her free hand.

"What was that for?" she wondered.

"I can see you rolling your eyes at me dingus," Jade explained. If Tori wasn't mistaken she could detect a hint of amusement in the vampire's tone now. Jade was indeed having fun teasing Tori now that she had the upper hand. She made her way to the front with a smirk on her face. She grabbed Beck's hand and tugged a little, her signal to start moving. She called out the turns so that Tori could match the hand tug signal that went with it. Jade was so close to letting her figure it out on her own but she knew she would have to hear Beck nag at her about it so she decided not to. When she reached the end she called out a stop and released Beck's hand. She moved to push aside the manhole then climbed out. The small amount of light prompted Beck forward again. Only when each of them were standing under the hole did they let go of the other's hand until Tori was the last to climb out. As much as Jade was hoping it would happen, Tori was not accosted by the guards. She only received a cursory glance but nothing more.

"Beck, your father is still out on patrol. He wanted me to give you some new supplies and asked that you take them to storage," one guard stated. Beck nodded and Jade walked over to pick up the bag. She set it down in front of Robbie.

"Mind taking that? I should find cover before I fry," she said, voice giving away nothing even though internally she was already laughing at what was to come.

"Sure thing," Robbie accepted, bending over to grip the bag. He pulled and then yelped, letting go to hold his back.

"I think I pulled something," he whined.

"_Man up Rob!"_

"Geez Robbie, it barely weighed anything," Jade chided, a smirk curling her lips. Tori was shocked at the sudden addition of a new voice and wondered where it came from but ignored it in favor of calling Jade out on her trick.

"Jade, what the hell? You knew that was way heavier than it looked," she scolded, rushing over to pick up the supplies. Jade's mood evaporated and she readied a comeback, one that would further demean Robbie, but she didn't get to. The words lost their way out with the flex of Tori's body when she lifted the bag. Cat's perceptive eyes caught Jade staring and she smiled.

"Thank you Tori. Cat can show you where it is. There should be some extra clothes you can wear so that you're more comfortable. Take Robbie with you since you'll be passing the hospital on the way," Beck requested.

"Ooh! I know what would look so good on you Tori!" Cat shouted, running off. Tori smiled and followed her at a pace that allowed Robbie to catch up.

"So, what was that voice I heard?" she asked him.

"That was Rex, my AI," he replied.

"_And aren't you a fine addition."_

Robbie blushed and shushed the device on his wrist. Tori ignored the comment.

"Those things exist now?" she marveled.

"Yep," Robbie responded with a nod. As they walked away their conversation went with them. Jade watched them go and then caught Beck's eyes. She hastily left before he could reprimand her. She hated when he did that, like she was some kid. She took to wandering a little despite the time until an hour passed and she was heading for her apartment complex. When she got inside she froze at the sight of Tori relaxed on the couch.

"What are **you** doing here?" she demanded. Tori sat up straight.

"Hey Jade. Everyone agreed that I should stay with you since Cat's already sharing and you're the only girl," she explained, fiddling with her fingers. She had been so straightforward, bold, and assertive before that Jade wondered what made her so reserved now. If she had indeed been spliced with a canine than it was reasonable to assume that territories affected her. This was Jade's home, therefore she had to respect it, as well as Jade. Regardless of that, Jade wanted nothing to do with her.

"There's a shit load of other girls here! Go have a sleepover with them!" she countered, striding towards her room. Tori jumped to her feet to follow.

"But Jade, I'm a stranger to them. They'll feel uncomfortable or maybe even threatened. Can I please just stay here? You have another room!" Tori pleaded. Jade stopped halfway down the hall and spun on Tori who skid to a stop and took a step back.

"**I** feel uncomfortable and threatened by you. This is **my** home and I don't want you here," Jade spat.

"Please Jade," Tori tried again, utterly defenseless and begging. Jade liked begging. It was a weakness of hers. She let Tori beg a while more before replying.

"Fine, but don't go anywhere near my room. I don't want your wet dog reek where I spend most my time," Jade allowed. Tori instantly became happy.

"Thanks," she mumbled. Jade just pointed at the spare room's door. Tori moved to go but stopped when she realized she would have to pass Jade who didn't plan on moving. She stood there like an intimidating statue, black and white eyes on Tori who tried to go past but felt like she would get attacked if she did. She whined which made Jade smirk.

"It might actually be fun to have you around," she remarked, thinking of the entertainment she could have at Tori's expense. The wolf hybrid quickly sped past the ominous vampire and disappeared in the offered room, closing the door behind her. Jade slowly walked to her own room and fell back on her bed. Maybe Tori could prove useful after all.


End file.
